Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Petuniaxc3x97hybrida cultivar USTUNI218.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Petunia plant, botanically known as Petuniaxc3x97hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name USTUNI218.
The new Petunia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Hikone, Shiga, Japan. The objective of the breeding program is to create new disease-resistant and heat-tolerant Petunias with semi-upright plant habit and attractive flower colors.
The new Petunia originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor on May 6, 1998 of the Petunia cultivar Fantasy Blue, not patented, as the female, or seed parent, with an unnamed selection of Petunia, not patented, as the male, or pollen parent. The new Petunia was selected as a single plant from the resulting progeny on Jun. 15, 1999 in Gensingen, Germany, on the basis of its plant habit and attractive flower coloration.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal vegetative cuttings since Jun. 25, 1999, taken in Gensingen, Germany has shown that the unique features of this new Petunia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar USTUNI218 have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity and daylength without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98USTUNI218xe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98USTUNI218xe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Semi-upright to cascading plant habit.
2. Freely branching habit.
3. Numerous single flowers that are violet blue in color.
4. Good garden performance.
In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Hikone, Shiga, Japan, plants of the new Petunia differed from plants of the female parent, the cultivar Fantasy Blue, in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Petunia were more cascading than and not as upright as plants of the cultivar Fantasy Blue.
2. Plants of the new Petunia were more vigorous than plants of the cultivar Fantasy Blue.
In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Hikone, Shiga, Japan, plants of the new Petunia differed from plants of the male parent selection primarily in time to flower as plants of the new Petunia flowered earlier than plants of the male parent selection.
Plants of the new Petunia can be compared to plants of the cultivar Dancasblue, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,006. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Gensingen, Germany, plants of the new Petunia differed from plants of the cultivar Dancasblue in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Petunia were more freely branching than plants of the cultivar Dancasblue.
2. Plants of the new Petunia were more tolerant to rain than plants of the cultivar Dancasblue.